Facebook censors group that helps women obtain abortion pills

Facebook has censored the page of an organization that helps women obtain abortion pills, citing its policy against the “promotion or encouragement of drug use”.

Women on Web, which is based in Amsterdam, helps connect women with doctors who can provide abortion pills if they live in countries where abortion access is restricted. It is a sister organization to Women on Waves, which provides abortions and other reproductive health services on a ship in international waters.

Women on Waves announced that the page had been “unpublished” on its own Facebook account, writing: “Women on Web provides life-saving information to thousands of women worldwide. Its Facebook page publishes news, scientific information and the protocols of the World Health Organization and Women on Web has answered over half a million emails with women who needed scientific, accurate information essential for their health and life.

“We expect Facebook will [undo] this action soon enough, as access to information is a human right.”

This is the second censorship row between Facebook and Women on Web. In January 2012, Facebook deleted the profile photograph of the group’s founder and director, Dr Rebecca Gomperts. The image contained instructions for inducing an abortion using Misoprostol. Gomperts was locked out of her account for two days after re-posting the image, but Facebook subsequently apologized and reinstated both the image and her account.

We expect Facebook will [undo] this action soon enough, as access to information is a human right

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With nearly 2bn users, the social media site plays a crucial role in disseminating news and information around the world. But Facebook has struggled to meet competing demands to allow for the free flow of information while cracking down on graphic material (such as the livestreamed murder of a baby in Thailand in April).

In 2016, the company faced international condemnation over its decision to censor the iconic Vietnam War photograph of a naked girl fleeing a Napalm attack. Facebook subsequently altered its policy to allow for editorial judgments about newsworthiness.

On 3 May, amid criticism over its handling of graphic videos, Facebook announced that it would hire 3,000 more content reviewers. Such content reviewers are tasked with applying the company’s “community standards”, often with uneven results.

Facebook’s has faced particular difficulty enforcing its rules for “regulated goods” – prescription drugs, marijuana, firearms, and ammunition. The company bars “attempts by private individuals to purchase, sell, or trade” such items, but has struggled to halt gun sales.

The company has cracked down aggressively on pages related to legal medical marijuana, however. In 2015, the site temporarily banned business publication Crain’s for promoting a cover story about medical marijuana.

Facebook censors group that helps women obtain abortion pills

Gardening, art, sport – "prescriptions" for mental health that don"t involve pills

Group therapeutic work had never appealed to Kerina, who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder in her 30s after suffering from mental health issues all her life. “You sit there reading paperwork and it feels like you’re in a classroom,” she says.

Then two years ago the community mental health team in Mid Ross in the Scottish Highlands gave her a “social prescription” – referring her to Branching Out, a Forestry Commission Scotland programme designed to help people recover from long-term mental health problems. For 12 weeks she spent five hours a week in the woods doing conservation work, bushcraft and environmental art.

“I enjoyed it straightaway,” says Kerina, who now volunteers as a mentor with the Abriachan Forest Trust, where she completed the course. “It’s so different from your normal life. You go out there and all your worries leave you. We built shelters, tables, workbenches, a kitchen. We chopped wood, we cooked, we sat around the campfire.

“It just seemed to really work for me. I remember saying: ‘I feel like I’ve been here for ages.’ I’d only been there a day.” Though she still has good and bad days, she says she now finds her problems easier to deal with, and is working towards a formal award in volunteering.

The use of social prescribing – where GPs and other primary care professionals refer patients to non-medical activities, such as gardening, arts and sports, normally delivered by the voluntary sector – is growing, with many schemes tackling mild to moderate mental health problems. Studies have suggested a range of positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

But in January a report commissioned by Natural England warned that the lack of a standardised referral mechanism, or funding for the activities offered in the majority of services, posed “fundamental barriers” to the NHS’s ambition to increase the scale of social prescribing.

It identified Rotherham’s service for people with long-term health conditions, which started in 2012, as having many of the ingredients for good practice – including a simple and effective referral system, well-informed link workers to help patients choose an intervention, and, crucially, funding for those interventions.

The report also highlighted the service Rotherham has since started for people with mental health issues, which began as a one-year pilot in 2015 and has just been extended for a third year. In an evaluation of its first year, 93% of service users reported progress against at least one of eight wellbeing outcome measures, and 64% reported progress on four or more.

While the service initially focused on those who had been using services for five to 20 years and needed a support network and meaningful activities to help with a successful discharge, it is now expanding to work with people earlier on.

But Janet Wheatley, chief executive of Voluntary Action Rotherham, which coordinates the programme, backs up the warning in the Natural England report: “You can’t direct more and more people to use resources in the community without providing funding to support that.”

Gardening, art, sport – "prescriptions" for mental health that don"t involve pills

Northern Ireland police raided premises searching for abortion pills

The Police Service of Northern Ireland raided two premises on International Women’s Day searching for abortion pills that are illegal in the region.

No pills were found during searches last week, including one at a workshop belonging to Belfast pro-choice campaigner Helen Crickard. Crickard said she felt “violated and humiliated” over the raids on her premises in South Belfast.

The PSNI confirmed on Monday that the raids had taken place. Det Supt Bobby Singleton stressed that abortion was a “sensitive issue that divides opinion within society”.

However, Singleton added that where an offence has been committed, the PSNI had a duty to bring offenders to justice.

Unlike the rest of the UK, doctors cannot prescribe abortion pills in Northern Ireland.

Singleton said: “Offences of procurement of an abortion are outlined in Sections 58 & 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and Child Destruction Sect 25 (1) Criminal Justice (NI) Act.

“These offences can reasonably be suspected in circumstances where persons order prescription medications which are known to be used or advertised as suitable for inducing an abortion.”

Last year three women handed themselves into a police station in Derry, stating they had procured and taken illegal abortion pills and requested that they be prosecuted, in protest at Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws. Since then, pro-choice campaigners have continued to challenge the PSNI to arrest them after they admitted purchasing abortion pills for other women in Northern Ireland.

Also in 2016, a 21-year-old woman was given a suspended prison sentence for buying drugs online to induce a miscarriage. She had been reported by her flatmates after they found out she had taken the abortion pills leading to a termination.

A mother is also facing prosecution for procuring abortion pills for her then underage daughter who fell pregnant.

Women in Northern Ireland who want to terminate a pregnancy can either travel to England or Wales for an abortion at a cost of around £1,000-£2,000. Northern Ireland residents are not eligible for the procedure on the NHS and have to pay for private treatment, as well as the cost of the flight and hotels.

Alternatively women at an early stage of pregnancy can buy mifepristone and misoprostol pills online, for around £60; the pills are considered safe and reliable in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. As well as buying the pills on the internet, pro-choice campaigners have also flown the drugs into Northern Ireland via drones.

Northern Ireland police raided premises searching for abortion pills

Northern Irish woman was reported to police by GP over abortion pills

A Northern Irish woman who was prosecuted for obtaining abortion pills for her underage pregnant daughter was reported to police by a GP, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service has revealed.

Launching an information campaign in Northern Ireland aimed at helping women access safe abortion medication and follow-up services, the BPAS said that a climate of fear over such prosecutions was risking lives in the region.

Last week, the mother won the right to challenge the decision to prosecute her for procuring the abortion pills for her daughter, who was 15 at the time.

BPAS said cases such as these would deter women from seeking follow-up care when needed for fear that they will face criminal sanction.

The charity stressed that no healthcare professional is obliged to report anyone who accesses the abortion pills in the province. Despite this BPAS confirmed that it was a GP who reported the mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over buying the abortion pills for her child.

In Northern Ireland, the maximum penalty for the crime of administering a drug to induce miscarriage under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is life imprisonment.

Except in cases where there is a direct threat to a mother’s life, almost all abortions are banned in Northern Ireland’s hospitals.

Ann Furedi, BPAS chief executive, said: “We have launched this information campaign today not to encourage women to break the law but in recognition that this is happening. Northern Ireland’s strict abortion law means women determined to end a pregnancy but who cannot travel must turn to online pills. These women are no less deserving of follow-up care and support than the women we see in our clinics.

“Recent court proceedings have sent out a deeply worrying message – that women are not able to speak openly and honestly with their clinicians. Those who are driving the prosecutions have created a damaging climate of fear for women and those caring for them.”

Furedi said BPAS had launched a 24-hour information hotline to help women in Northern Ireland access safe abortion pills.

She said: “We know that there are women who are in need of care but afraid to access help. So today we want to send a clear message: if you have taken abortion pills and need advice, we are here for you, 24 hours a day, every day.”

Last year, pro-choice campaigners used a drone that was flown across the Irish Sea to deliver abortion pills to women in Northern Ireland.

In April last year, a 21-year-old woman received a one-year suspended sentence at Belfast crown court for procuring her own abortion by using a poison, and of supplying a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage. The court was told she had been arrested after her flatmates in Belfast reported her.

Two years ago, the UN’s human rights committee said the severe restrictions on terminations in the region were putting Northern Irish women’s lives at risk.

An estimated 2,000 women travel to English hospitals and clinics from Northern Ireland every year to have terminations. There is strong opposition to liberalising the province’s strict anti-abortion laws across the floor of the Northern Ireland assembly.

The 1967 Abortion Act was never extended to Northern Ireland and all the main local political parties oppose it.

Northern Irish woman was reported to police by GP over abortion pills

Woman who bought abortion pills for daughter can challenge prosecution

Lawyers have won the right to challenge a decision to prosecute a mother in Northern Ireland who procured abortion pills online for her 15-year-old daughter.

In a groundbreaking case that is set to focus attention on Northern Ireland’s abortion legislation, a judge in Belfast gave permission for a judicial review to be heard over the prosecution of the mother, stating that the case raised “issues of considerable public importance and public debate”.

The family’s lawyers argued that compelling the child to go ahead with the pregnancy would have breached her human rights; and by extension the decision to prosecute her mother for helping her access medication also amounted to a breach of her human rights and those of her mother. Lord Justice Weatherup said the judicial review would look at whether there should be prosecutions in these circumstances.

The case came to the attention of police because a doctor at the clinic where the girl sought advice from her GP and received counselling after taking the pills reported her. The review will look at whether the decision by police to access her medical records without her permission was also a breach of her human rights.

The girl at the centre of the case is not being prosecuted (and has not been named), but her mother faces two charges of unlawfully procuring poison (the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol) with intent to procure a miscarriage, contrary to the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, and supplying that poison to her daughter. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Self-administered abortions using pills – often procured over the internet – have become the cheapest, most accessible solution for women in Northern Ireland. The 1967 Abortion Act was never extended to Northern Ireland, and abortion remains illegal in all but the most extreme circumstances. Northern Ireland has the harshest criminal penalty for abortion anywhere in Europe; in theory life imprisonment can be handed down to a woman undergoing an unlawful abortion.

The girl found out she was pregnant in the summer of 2013, after a relationship with a boy a year older than her and who she said was physically abusive. In written evidence submitted to the court, her lawyers said he threatened to kick the baby out of her, and to stab it if it was born.

According to statements submitted on behalf of the mother, the girl discussed her situation with her, and considered whether she should keep the baby, give it up for adoption or travel to England for an abortion. Her mother had heard that abortion pills were another option, and read about them on the British Pregnancy Advisory Service website, which indicated they were safe and widely used. She did not know it was illegal to use them in Northern Ireland. She obtained them by post through a website that helps supply the pills to women, particularly in countries where abortion is restricted.

After taking the pills, the girl was upset and was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend, according to the statements. Her mother was concerned about her emotional wellbeing and took her to the GP, where they spoke about taking the pills. A medical examination showed no ill-effects, and a referral was made for counselling.

Two months later a doctor at the medical centre (it is not clear from the court papers if it was the same doctor or another) told police that the girl had taken the pills. Neither the girl nor her mother were consulted about her private medical records being handed to the police, according to the court papers.

In a statement made to her lawyers, and submitted in the case for judicial review, the mother said: “I have been extremely distressed at the prospect of facing what I understand to be serious criminal charges because I accessed pills for my 15-year-old daughter in circumstances where she believed that she was pregnant and did not feel able to continue with her pregnancy.

“None of the people I spoke with about accessing pills told me that it was illegal and I did not believe that I was doing anything wrong. That is why I was totally open with the GP and all other professionals I dealt with. My primary concern throughout this has been to protect my child’s best interests. I don’t believe that [she] would have been able to cope with giving birth and rearing a child.” She added: “Had I been aware that there was any legal issue about the purchasing of the tablets I would probably have been more cautious.”

A statement from her daughter said: “I was only 15 years old and I was frightened by the prospect of being a mother. I was still a child myself and I was not sure that I would be able to cope. I was still at school and was in my first year of the GCSE cycle. I had always planned to do A-levels and I wanted to go to university. I knew that all of this would have been extremely difficult as a single mother.”

She said she was frightened the boy might continue to abuse her, or the child. “The idea of [my ex-boyfriend] being the father of my child and having him in my life in the long term made me physically ill.”

Lawyers for the mother and daughter will focus on the girl’s age and argue that “the blanket ban on abortion is particularly invidious when it comes to children who are unlikely to be able to access appropriate medical services without adult assistance.” The mother’s legal team is hoping to crowdfund the fees for the judicial review because she is not eligible for legal aid.

Earlier this month, in another prosecution involving the use of abortion pills in Northern Ireland, a woman accused of taking the tablets and her partner (who was accused of supplying a poison after getting the pills for her online) accepted cautions and charges against them were withdrawn.

Last year, a woman was prosecuted after her flatmates reported her to police for taking the same pills to terminate her pregnancy at home.

The abortion tablets are recommended as safe by the World Health Organisation for use in early pregnancy; in 2005 an estimated 26 million women worldwide used this drug combination to terminate pregnancies.

The mother’s lawyer, Karen Quinlivan QC, also highlighted the potentially chilling effect of the revelation that medical staff had reported the girl to the police. In Northern Ireland, medics theoretically face prosecution if they do not disclose an abortion to the police. She said the mother and daughter were “being punished because they didn’t tell a pack of lies to the doctors”.

“To pursue the prosecution in these circumstances will inevitably deter other women and girls, who for one reason or another take abortion pills obtained online, from obtaining medical assistance in the aftermath of having taken such pills, because of an entirely rational fear that this will be reported to the authorities,” she argued in the skeleton argument submitted to the judge. “This creates a real risk that women or girls who ought, to ensure access to the best medical care, make full disclosure of the fact that abortion pills have been taken, may not do so, with the potential adverse consequences to their health.”

Grainne Teggart, Northern Ireland campaign manager for Amnesty International, said: “We welcome the decision of the court to grant leave to challenge the decision to prosecute a mother for procuring abortion pills for her daughter – she is not a criminal, her daughter is not a criminal. Abortion is a healthcare and human rights issue and the law must stop treating Northern Ireland women who need abortions as criminals.

“It is wrong that the mother has been treated like a common criminal for attempting to help her daughter by sourcing medication, which is prescribed free on the NHS in every other part of the UK.”

A date for the judicial review hearing was set for May.

Woman who bought abortion pills for daughter can challenge prosecution